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Affliction: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations
Now let us thank th' eternal power, convinc'd That Heaven but tries our virtue by affliction: That oft the cloud which wraps the present hour, Serves but to brighten all our future days!— JOHN BROWN — Barbarossa. Act V. Sc. 3.
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress; A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss!— BURNS — A Winter Night.
Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts, And thou art wedded to calamity.— Shakespeare — Romeo and Juliet. Act III. Sc. 3. L. 2.
Henceforth I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, Enough, enough, and die.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act IV. Sc. 6. L. 75.
Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire; that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act IV. Sc. 7. L. 46.
Affliction is not sent in vain, young man, From that good God, who chastens whom he loves.— SOUTHEY — Madoc in Wales. III. L. 176.
The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.— SPURGEON — Gleanings Among the
Sheaves. Sorrow's Discipline. AGE (OLD). With silence only as their benediction, God's angels come Where in the shadow of a great affliction, The soul sits dumb!— WHITTIER — To my Friend on the Death
of his Sister. Affliction is the good man's shining scene; Prosperity conceals his brightest ray; As night to stars, woe lustre gives to man.— YOUNG — Night Thoughts. Night IX. L. 415.
AGE (OLD). Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years! I am so weary of toil and of tears, - Toil without recompense, tears all in vain- Take them and give me my childhood again!— ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN — Rock Me
to Sleep. Weak withering age no rigid law forbids, With frugal nectar, smooth and slow with balm, The sapless habit daily to bedew, And give the hesitating wheels of life Gliblier to play.— JOHN ARMSTRONG — Art of Preserving Health. Bk. II. L. 484.
What is it to grow old? Is it to lose the glory of the form, The lustre of the eye? Is it for Beauty to forego her wreath? Yes; but not this alone.— MATTHEW ARNOLD — Growing Old.
Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.— BACON — Essay XLII. Of Youth and Age.
Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. Quoted by BACON-Apothegm 97. Old age comes on apace to ravage all the clime. S.— BEATTIE — The Minstrel. Bk. I. St. 25.
Old age doth in sharp pains abound; We are belabored by the gout, Our blindness is a dark profound, Our deafness each one laughs about. Then reason's light with falling ray Doth but a trembling flicker cast. Honor to age, ye children pay! Alas! my fifty years are past!— BERANGER — Cinquante Ans. Translated by C. L. Betts,
AGE (OLD). To resist with success the frigidity of old age, one must combine the body, the mind, and the heart; to keep these in parallel vigor one must exercise, study and love.— BONSTETTEN — In Abel Stevens' Madame de Staël. Ch. XXVI.
Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.— BYRON — Childe Harold. Canto II. St. 88.
He has grown aged in this world of woe, In deeds, not years, piercing the depths of life. So that no wonder waits him. C.— BYRON — Childe Harold. Canto III. St. 5.
Just as old age is creeping on apace, And clouds come o'er the sunset of our day, They kindly leave us, though not quite alone, But in good company-the gout or stone.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto III. St. 59.
My days are in the yellow leaf; The flowers and fruits of love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief Are mine alone!— BYRON — On this day I complete my
Thirty-sixth Year. Oh, for one hour of blind old Dandolo, Th' octogenarian chief, Byzantium's conquering foe!— BYRON — Childe Harold. Canto IV. St. 12.
What is the worst of woes that wait on age? What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow? To view each loved one blotted from life's page, And be alone on earth as I am now.— BYRON — Childe Harold. Canto II. Sc. 98.
*** Years steal Fire from the mind, as vigor from the limb; And life's enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.— BYRON — Childe Harold. Canto III. St. 8.
For oute of olde feldys, as men sey, Comyth al this newe corn from yere to yere; And out of olde bokis, in good fey, Comyth al this newe science that men lere.— CHAUCER — The Parlement of Fowles. L. 21.
The spring, like youth, fresh blossoms doth produce, But autumn makes them ripe and fit for use: So Age a mature mellowness doth set On the green promises of youthful heat.— SIR JOHN DENHAM — Cato Major. Pt. IV. L. 47.
AGE (OLD.) The Disappointment of Manhood succeeds to the delusion of Youth; let us hope that the heritage of Old Age is not Despair. DISRAELI (Earl Beaconsfield)- Vivian Grey. Bk. VIII. Ch. IV. Youth is a blunder; Manhood a struggle; Old Age a regret. DISRAELI (Earl Beaconsfield)- Coningsby. Bk. III. Ch. I. Fate seem'd to wind him up for fourscore years; Yet freshly ran he on ten winters more; Till like a clock worn out with eating time, The wheels of weary life at last stood still.— DRYDEN — Edipus. Act IV. Sc. I.
His hair just grizzled As in a green old age.— DRYDEN — Edipus. Act III. Sc. I.
We do not count a man's years, until he has nothing else to count.— EMERSON — Society and Solitude.
Old Age. Remote from cities liv'd a Swain, Unvex'd with all the cares of gain; His head was silver'd o'er with age, And long experience made him sage.— GAY — Fables. Part I.
The Shepherd and the Philosopher. Old age is courteous-no one more : For time after time he knocks at the door, But nobody says. "Walk in, sir, pray!" Yet turns he not from the door away, But lifts the latch, and enters with speed, And then they cry, "A cool one, indeed."— GOETHE — Old Age.
Alike all ages: dames of ancient days Have led their children thro' the mirthful maze. And the gay grandsire, skill'd in gestic lore, Has frisk'd beneath the burthen of threescore.— GOLDSMITH — The Traveller. L. 251.
I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine. S.— GOLDSMITH — She Stoops to Conquer. Act I. Sc. I.
O blest retirement! friend to life's decline- Retreats from care, that never must be mine How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these, A youth of labour with an age of ease!— GOLDSMITH — The Deserted Village. L. 97.
They say women and music should never be dated.— GOLDSMITH — She Stoops to Conquer. Act III.
AGE (OLD). Slow-consuming age.— GRAY — Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College. St. 9.
To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.— O. W. HOLMES — On the seventieth birth-
day of Julia Ward Howe, May 27, 1889. A green old age, unconscious of decays, That proves the hero born in better days. C.— HOMER — Iliad. Bk. 23. L. 925.
Pope's trans. When he's forsaken, Wither'd and shaken, What can an old man do but die?— HOOD — Ballad.
Boys must not have th' ambitious care of men, Nor men the weak anxieties of age.— HORACE — Of the Art of Poetry. Trans. by Wentworth Dillon. L. 212.
Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage, Till pitying Nature signs the last release, And bids afflicted worth retire to peace.— SAM'L JOHNSON- — Vanity of Human Wishes. L. 308.
Few people know how to be old.— LA ROCHEFOUCAULD — Maxims and Moral Sentences. No. 448.
And the bright faces of my young companions Are wrinkled like my own, or are no more.— LONGFELLOW — Spanish Student. Act III. Sc. 3.
For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.— LONGFELLOW — Morituri Salutamus. L. 281.
How far the gulf-stream of our youth may flow Into the arctic regions of our lives, Where little else than life itself survives.— LONGFELLOW — Morituri Salutamus. L. 250.
The course of my long life hath reached at last, In fragile bark o'er a tempestuous sea, The common harbor, where must rendered be, Account of all the actions of the past.— LONGFELLOW — Old Age.
The sunshine fails, the shadows grow more dreary, And I am near to fall, infirm and weary.— LONGFELLOW — Canzone.
AGE (OLD). Whatever poet, orator, or sage May say of it, old age is still old age.— LONGFELLOW — Morituri Salutamus. L. 264.
Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.— GEORGE MACDONALD — The Marquis of Lossie. Ch. XL.
What find you better or more honorable *** than age? Take the preheminence of it in everything ;-in an old friend, in old wine, in an old pedigree.— SHAKERLEY MARMION — Antiquary. Act II. Sc. 1.
Set is the sun of my years; And over a few poor ashes, I sit in my darkness and tears.— GERALD MASSEY — A Wail.
Old wood to burn! Old wine to drink! Old friends to trust! Old authors to read !-Alonso of Aragon was wont to say in commendation of age, that age appeared to be best in these four things.— MELCHIOR — Floresta Española de
Apothegmas o Sentencias, etc. II. 1. 20. The ages roll Forward; and forward with them, draw my soul Into time's infinite sea. And to be glad, or sad, I care no more; But to have done, and to have been, before I cease to do and be. OWEN MEREDITH (Lord Lytton)-The Wanderer. Bk. IV. A Confession and Apology St. 9. [P.P. '93]. So may'st thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop Into thy mother's lap, or be with ease Gather'd, not harshly pluck'd, for death mature. S.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. XI. L. 535.
So Life's year begins and closes; Days, though short'ning, still can shine; What though youth gave love and roses, Age still leaves us friends and wine.— MOORE — Spring and Autumn.
Thyself no more deceive, thy youth hath fled.— PETRARCH — To Laura in Death.
Sonnet LXXXII. Learn to live well, or fairly make your will; You've played, and loved, and ate, and drank your fill. Walk sober off, before a sprightlier age Comes tittering on, and shoves you from the stage.— POPE — Imitations of Horace. Bk. II. Ep. 2. L. 322.
AGE (OLD). Me let the tender office long engage To rock the cradle of reposing age; With lenient arts extend a mother's breath, Make languor smile, and smooth the bed of death; Explore the thought, explain the asking eye! Begin to patch up thine old body for heaven. And keep awhile one parent from the sky.— POPE — Prologue to the Satires. L. 408.
Why will you break the Sabbath of my days? Now sick alike of Envy and of Praise.— POPE — First Book of Horace. Ep. I. L. 3.
Through the sequester'd vale of rural life, The venerable patriarch guileless held The tenor of his way.— PORTEUS — Death. L. 109.
C. O, roses for the flush of youth, And laurel for the perfect prime; But pluck an ivy branch for me Grown old before my time.— CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI — Song. St. 1.
I'm growing fonder of my staff; I'm growing dimmer in the eyes; I'm growing fainter in my laugh; I'm growing deeper in my sighs; I'm growing careless of my dress; I'm growing frugal of my gold; I'm growing wise; I'm growing, -yes, - I'm growing old.— SAXE — I'm Growing Old.
On his bold visage middle age Had slightly press'd its signet sage. ScoTT-Lady of the Lake. Canto I. Pt. XXI. Thus aged men, full loth and slow, The vanities of life forego, And count their youthful follies o'er, Till Memory lends her light no more. ScoTT-Rokeby. Canto V. St. 1. Thus pleasures fade away; Youth, talents, beauty, thus decay, And leave us dark, forlorn, and gray; ScoTT-Marmion. Introduction to Canto II. St. 7. Old friends are best. King James us'd to call for his Old Shoes, they were easiest for his Feet.— SELDEN — Table Talk. Friends.
And his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound.— Shakespeare — As You Like It. Act II. Sc. 7. L. 161.
An old man is twice a child.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act II. Sc. 2. L. 404.
As you are old and reverend, you should be wise.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act I. Sc. 4. L. 261,
AGE (OLD). At your age, The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble, And waits upon the judgment.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act III. Sc. 4. L. 68. Henry IV. Pt. II. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 193.
For we are old, and on our quick'st decrees The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time Steals ere we can effect them.— Shakespeare — All's Well that Ends Well. Act V. Sc. 3. L. 40.
Give me a staff of honor for mine age, But not a sceptre to control the world.— Shakespeare — Titus Andronicus. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 198.
Men shut their doors against a setting sun.— Shakespeare — Timon of Athens. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 129.
My way of life Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf, And that which should accompany old age, As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have; but, in their stead, Curses not loud, but deep, mouth-honor, breath, Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.— Shakespeare — Macbeth. Act V. Sc. 3. L. 22.
Nor age so eat up my invention.— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act IV. Sc. 1. L. 192.
O, father Abbot, An old man, broken with the storms of State, Is come to lay his weary bones among ye; Give him a little earth for charity!— Shakespeare — Henry VIII. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 20.
O, heavens, If you do love old men, if your sweet sway Allow obedience, if yourselves are old, Make it your cause.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 193.
Pray, do not mock me: I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward; not an hour more nor less, And, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act IV. Sc. 7. L. 59.
Some smack of age in you, some relish of the saltness of time.— Shakespeare — King Henry IV. Pt. II. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 91.
Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer.— Shakespeare — X. Merchant of Venice. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 8.
AGE (OLD). Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty; For in my youth I never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood; Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo The means of weakness and debility; Therefore my age is as a lusty winter, Frosty, but kindly.— Shakespeare — As You Like It. Act II. Sc. 3. L. 47.
Though now this grained face of mine be hid In sap-consuming winter's drizzled snow, And all the conduits of my blood froze up, Yet hath my night of life some memory.— Shakespeare — Comedy of Errors. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 311.
What should we speak of When we are old as you? When we shall hear The rain and wind beat dark December. C.— Shakespeare — Cymbeline. Act III. Sc. 3. L. 36.
You are old; Nature in you stands on the very verge Of her confine.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 148.
"You are old, Father William," the young man cried, "The few locks which are left you are gray; You are hale, Father William, -a hearty old man: Now tell me the reason, I pray."— SOUTHEY — The Old Man's Comforts, and
how he Gained Them. Every man desires to live long; but no man would be old.— SWIFT — Thoughts on Various Subjects,
Moral and Diverting. I swear she's no chicken; she's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.— SWIFT — Polite Conversation. Dialogue I.
O good gray head which all men knew.— TENNYSON — On the Death of the Duke of Wellington. St. 4.
Age too shines out: and, garrulous, recounts The feats of youth.— THOMSON — The Seasons. Autumn. L. 1231.
Venerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives, that you might behold this joyous day.— DANIEL WEBSTER — Address at Laying
the Corner-Stone of the Bunker Hill Monument, June 17, 1825. Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burn brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweetheart, are surest, and old lovers are soundest.— JOHN WEBSTER — Westward Ho. Act II. Sc. 1.
Damna minus consueta movent. The afflictions to which we are accustomed, do not disturb us.— CLAUDIANUS — In Eutropium. II. 149.
Crede mihi, miseris cœlestia numina parcunt; Nec semper læsos, et sine fine, premunt. Believe me, the gods spare the afflicted, and do not always oppress those who are unfortunate.— OVID — Epistolæ Ex Ponto. III. 6. 21.
Dubiam salutem qui dat adflictis negat. He who tenders doubtful safety to those in trouble refuses it.— SENECA — Edipus. CCXIII.
Quæ regio in terris nostri non plena laboris. What region of the earth is not full of our calamities?— VIRGIL — Eneid. I. 460.
AGE (OLD). Senex cum extemplo est, jam nec sentit, nec sapit; Ajunt solere eum rursum repuerascere. When man reaches the last stage of life, - "Sans sense, sans taste, sans eyes, sans everything,"-they say that he has grown a child again.— PLAUTUS — Mercator. II. 2. 24.
Senectus insanabilis morbus est. Old age is an incurable disease.— SENECA — Epistolæ Ad Lucilium. CVIII.